Just Friends
by Rivendell19
Summary: Cloud is an openly straight man who has never once doubted his sexuality, but finds himself constantly questioned about it. The only person on his side is Zack, who thinks the thought of Cloud being gay impossible. The rumours continue, and their friendship grows, but unknowingly something else begins to creep into their friendship that cannot be blamed on rumours - yaoi.


_Just Friends_

I was inspired to write this after shipping a non-existent youtube pairing, but I can't help being a helpless fan girl!

I wanted to write a story where neither of the characters wants the other or is attracted to the same sex. The best type of romance is the unexpected one!

Introduction

* * *

The friendship forged between Cloud and Zack was an unusual one.

It was mainly due to the fact that the two of them had barely known each other for that long, but somehow appeared to be made for one another. When they had first met in Modeoheim, it had been somewhat awkward, and Cloud seemed to be nothing other than shy and adorable. But as the two of them had gotten closer, Zack had started to see a more sarcastic and hilarious side of the blonde, which mirrored his own personality.

Although Cloud had definite sass and attitude, he was socially awkward, which was the complete opposite of Zack. Originally, the man had wanted to look after the blonde, and make sure he settled into the company and managed to make friends. However, after a few months, the two had become inseparable, and anywhere Cloud went, Zack followed.

The pair of them were considered a comedy duo, and had to be separated at work to prevent them from distracting one another. Cloud had all of a sudden become recognised, and Zack had found himself calling the blonde his 'best friend.' It was something he didn't think he wanted with a girlfriend in his life, as he assumed Aerith was all he needed to make him happy. The guy preferred to have a big group of friends, rather than one close one, but he couldn't help it.

Cloud was just so similar to him, and made him laugh more than anyone else.

When Zack had introduced Cloud to his circle of friends, they had been a little unsure to begin with. The blonde definitely wasn't Zack's usual sort, and his unusual attitude and energy was a little too much for them to digest originally. However, after a few months, he had just become one of their crowd, and before they knew it, Cloud was a regular member of their group.

"Spin the damn bottle!"

On this particular day, the group of them had decided to meet up and drink at Zack's apartment.

The suggestion of 'truth or dare' had cropped up, and although the males outnumbered the females, the group of them had agreed to do it. Besides, there would be no kissing involved, not when the chance of kissing another guy was possible. Instead, they asked them harsh truths, and dared them to do humiliating things. It was a typical group of young, immature men.

Cloud enjoyed the idea of truth and dare, especially when it involved embarrassing someone, or making them reveal their darkest secrets, which he could use to mock them. The blonde had been an obvious outcast in his home town, so had allowed his frustration to turn him sarcastic and bitter. It was also the only thing he was sure he was good at - making people laugh.

The blonde became impatient, and decided to spin the bottle himself, gasping dramatically as it spinned before them. All of the group watched it with anxious eyes, and began sighing in relief, as the bottle pointed straight towards the person who had spun it.

"Are you fucking kidding me," Cloud laughed, picking up the bottle and jokingly throwing it against the floor. It was no use though, the group grinned at him, and waited for his verdict.

He sighed as he addressed them. "... Truth."

Zack threw up his hands dramatically in response. "Slow down, Cloud, you're a dangerous man."

Apparently, picking truth was something only a wimp would do.

Cloud didn't mind being called that though, rather than be forced to do something stupid. It was funny when someone else humiliated themselves, but not him. No, he was the one to laugh at others, not the other way round. The blonde grinned at his own selfishness, and stuck his finger up at Zack.

"Let's hope you don't get dared to do anything," he told his friend.

One of the group interrupted their pretend squabble, and began flapping his arms around frantically. "Quiet, quiet, I have a question!" he announced, as the entire room turned to face him, eager to find out what he was going to say.

They all wanted to know peoples secrets, but were too terrified to ask such personal things themselves.

However, this particular indivudual, was not shy.

"It's something I know a lot of people have been wondering," he told Cloud, which made the group fidget awkwardly, already predicting what the question would be. The blonde however, remained none the wiser, curious as to what the others had been discussing behind his back.

But then it hit him… and he felt the blood boil within him.

Something that he had been asked countless times by drunk strangers, or heard whispers about between his friends. Cloud forced himself to smile, and waited reluctantly for the question.

* * *

"... Are you gay?"

The only person to appear surprised was Zack, who scrunched his face up, confused, and stared across at the man who had asked the question. Although he had heard others mention it, and did see where they could be coming from, he knew for certain it wasn't the case. Cloud liked girls, and regularly told him so when they discussed them. There was no clear evidence to suggest Cloud was into the same sex.

The blonde became lost in his thoughts; he was asked this question more than he would have liked. Originally, it had been amusing to him, because as he knew himself he wasn't gay, it shouldn't bother him to have others suspect it. Cloud told himself the rumours would die down, but they hadn't, if anything, they had gotten more frequent. He did currently have a love interest, a girl he thought he liked, and was getting close to. But this only seemed to make people think he was in some sort of denial, and having other people assume they knew him better than himself angered him. Why would he date someone, just to hide the fact he was gay?

Cloud realised he was feminine, and knew that in comparison to the other men his personality was definitely less masculine. His appearance was cute and soft, especially his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The clothes he wore were brightly coloured, and he preferred to drink cocktails than beer. When he laughed, it was high-pitched, and feminine, and some of his hand gestures and phrases were not so manly. But that was just the way it was; it had nothing to do with his sexuality.

The group stared at him with anticipation, which made him unusually uncomfortable.

Cloud decided to laugh, and intentionally put on a camp voice. "What would give you that idea?"

They all laughed at him, but remained unsure, which urged him to answer seriously.

"No, I'm not gay," he told him, forcing himself to laugh. "I like to believe finding a woman's body attractive proves that point significantly. Now, if you'll excuse me… I'm off to get a drink."

The blonde pulled himself up, heading towards the door, and took one last look towards the group of people, whose attention remained fixed on him. "Of course, the main reason I want a drink is to ram the bottle down my throat, and imagine I'm having sex with a man."

Cloud could not bear to hear their laughter, and instead chose to enter the kitchen and make his way to the pile of alcohol. He didn't want it to bother him, but feeling like no one believed him irritated him, and he wanted to be trusted. Especially by Zack…

He felt his body tense up as someone entered the kitchen behind him, and waited for Cloud to turn and face him. The blonde did so, and felt a slight moment of relief as he realised it was Zack staring back at him, and not one of the others. Cloud smiled sadly, and rolled his eyes at him.

Zack threw him a mischievous look, which made Cloud a little nervous. Oh, how he hoped the questioning would be left there, and the two of them could discuss something else. But he knew Zack, and having the blonde uncomfortable would make him all the more keen to mock him. It was the exact thing Cloud would do in the same situation, but this topic was a little more sensitive to the blonde, and he glared at his friend in warning.

It was a warning that Zack ignored.

Instead, his friend lifted up his shirt, revealing a toned stomach to him. Cloud looked down at it casually, feeling something tighten within his chest, although that was most definitely down to jealousy and had nothing to do with attraction. Yes, Zack was an attractive man, he could be straight and admit that.

"Calm down, Cloud," he joked, running his hands across his body.

Before the blonde could interrupt, Zack flicked his hair and put on his sassiest voice. "I'm not even tensing," he commented, scrunching his face into a pout. "Look at this body."

Cloud found himself wanting to laugh, but couldn't, angry that his friend didn't appreciate how annoyed he currently was. He stared emotionlessly at Zack, who despite that, continued to taunt him and throw jokes at him regarding his sexuality. It got to the point where Zack appeared nothing but immature, the humour childish, and not even remotely funny. The same comments were repeated, and repeated, and before Cloud knew it, he was making his way over to Zack.

His friend snickered at him as he approached, but his face quickly fell as he finally recognised Cloud's serious expression. Zack didn't have time to wonder what his friend was doing, before the blonde lifted his hand towards the man's cheek, and tilted his chin upwards. Although his touch was soft and endearing, his expression remained fierce, and Zack knew the blonde was making a point.

Cloud spoke to him with a venom in his voice. "You sure talk a lot about me being gay," he told him, not even forcing himself to sound joking. "Is that a hint, huh? Do you want to see me being like that?"

The blonde liked to make people uncomfortable, and always wanted the last laugh, but even he had to admit this was a little far. Cloud loved the look of horror on Zack's face though, and continued to caress his cheek, asking if Zack found him attractive, playing along with it.

Cloud decided to have one last laugh, and leaned in towards his friend, so that their lips were only centimetres apart. He pretended to go in to kiss him, but made sure he paused before doing so, continuing to glare into Zack's helpless eyes. The two of them remained frozen, staring into each other, the entire world stopping momentarily around them.

The blonde knew it was the alcohol that was making him act this aggressively.

The alcohol was clearly also slowing down his reactions, as he stayed in the same position, staring at his friend. Eventually, Zack's eyes changed, and began to glow, softening, which made Cloud's eyes do the same. Unintentionally, the two became lost in one another's eyes, but it wasn't due to them feeling guilt, or remorse for one another. It was something else entirely, and as Cloud began to recognise the situation they were in, he began to blush.

That blushing soon turned his entire face red, as the tension tore at the atmosphere.

What on earth was going on?

Zack swallowed the lump in his throat, the feeling of Cloud's hands still pressing against his cheek. The alcohol was making his head spin, and for whatever reason, he allowed himself to remain pushed up against the kitchen surface. How long had they been staring at each other now? Cloud's lips twitched nervously, and out of nowhere, without the slightest warning, Zack began to feel an unsettling urge rise within him.

… He wanted to lean in and kiss him.

"What the fuck are you two doing?"

The interruption caused the two men to practically spring away from one another, and smooth themselves down. Cloud was the first one to talk, surprisingly, claiming he was trying to make Zack uncomfortable. Although it was the truth, Zack heard the sentence, and wanted to highlight that it was indeed much stranger than that. But he didn't, because for some unknown reason, he still couldn't speak.

Cloud turned to Zack with an irritated expression, and stormed out of the kitchen. The other figure besides Zack eventually picked up his drink, throwing the man one last concerned look, before leaving him be. The Soldier sighed to himself, leaning his head up against the wall, wondering what on earth had spurred such behaviour.

But, in the end, he could do nothing but laugh about the situation. Alcohol was one hell of a drug, and Zack knew how it could make people do crazy things. That was certainly the first time he had even been in such a situation with a man, however. Cloud had been the one to lean in, but Zack had somehow found himself wanting to…

_… Look, remember, alcohol is a terrible thing, forget it._

Zack knew how sexually minded it made him, and clearly, it had clouded his judgement.

Deciding to no longer think about it, the man turned towards the door, and swiftly made his way out of it and towards the living room. The drink was hitting him hard, so he found himself trailing his hand against the wall, holding himself up. As he went to move his hand onto the living room opening, he found himself temporarily halted, swaying against the doorway as another person attempted to pass him.

When Zack looked up, he found himself gazing across at Cloud, who had similarly stopped in his tracks, unaware of the other person until now. Although Zack tried to smile at him, it became sheepish, and an awkwardness that they were not use to appeared. Cloud did not even try to bother smiling at him, and looked away, pushing himself against Zack and entering the living room.

The man didn't take it to heart, and followed suit, taking his previous position in the group, and raising his drink to them. As cheers erupted, he found himself looking at only one person, who seemed much more confident now he was surrounded by other people. Cloud now began to smile, and the previous uncomfortable aura seemed to disappear.

It was just another crazy night with alcohol.

However, even though the moment passed, and Zack no longer thought about their intense moment in the kitchen, he couldn't help but keep his gaze fixed to his friend. One question continued to appear in his mind, and despite his certainty, he couldn't help but consider it.

… Was Cloud, really gay?

But as soon as the thought had appeared, it left him, and Zack snickered at the thought. No, of course he wasn't, the thought was ridiculous.

It was almost as ridiculous as him questioning his own sexuality.

* * *

I hope you liked it, please let me know, and I'll write a second chapter :)


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